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Cypriot authorities rescue 27 Syrian refugees from boat

Xinhua, December 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

Cypriot marine police rescued 27 Syrian refugees who tried to reach the northern shores of Cyprus from Turkey aboard a speed boat on Tuesday.

A statement said a police launch picked up 27 people from a speed boat in rough seas off the northwestern shores of Cyprus, among them six women and two infants.

One of the women was pregnant and was taken to hospital immediately after the refugees reached a marina at a summer resort.

The Syrians said that they had left Aleppo to avoid the fighting and reached the southern shores of Turkey after an arduous journey.

This was the fifth boat which arrived from Turkey this year with refugees from Syria.

The refugees said the trafficker left them just outside the Cypriot territorial waters to return to Turkey on a water jet ski.

However, authorities believe that the traffickers make their way to the region of Cyprus occupied by Turkish troops and then they return by plane to avoid the hazards of a journey in the open sea.

The Cypriot police said that the refugees will be transferred to a camp near the capital Nicosia after being processed at a local police station. Endit